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Christianity, david, Grace, interview, ligonier, magazine, paul, tabletalk, transforming, Tripp
In the September issue of Ligonier’s TableTalk (TT) magazine, there is a very insightful interview with Paul David Tripp (PDT) on Living in Light of the Gospel. In that interview, TT asks Tripp questions covering everything from how Christians can learn from secular counseling, the most serious issues plaguing the modern Christian family, challenges facing Christian adolescents, and advice on how to deal with friends facing serious problems.
Among those issues, there was this weighty question and PDT’s answer:
TT: Most Christians express a desire to change, to become more Christlike, but often stumble and fall short. Some even give up in despair. How is the change we desire to be achieved?
PDT: The bright hope of the cross of Jesus Christ is that lasting personal change is really possible. The person and work of Jesus Christ mean fresh starts and new beginnings can and do happen. What does the process of change look like? We must first affirm that all lasting change of heart that leads to a change in a person’s word or behavior is an act of grace. How does that grace operate in the heart of a person? Here’s how I think about the process.
You can’t repent of what
you haven’t confessed.
First, you can’t grieve what you don’t see. You have to be willing to look into the accurate mirror of the Word of God. You can’t confess what you haven’t grieved. You have to submit to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit and own personal responsibility for your words and behavior. You can’t repent of what you haven’t confessed. You have to obey God’s call to new ways of living and ask, “Specifically where is God calling me to live in a brand new way?”
Finally, you can’t change (actually applying these new commitments to daily living) what you haven’t repented of. That’s the process of transforming grace: see-grieve-confess-repent-change.
Well maybe it is just me but the wording still sounds like a Five step self help program of improving the old nature. I guess I am to Accustomed to the Puritan phraseology, sanctification has been well written on and the modern language seems to fall short.
Seems like a good description of the process to me, as long as you continually stress that every step along the way is by God’s grace. We can’t manufacture one bit of it. And I would also stress that the world has its counterfeit of each “step” in the process. Beware of cheap imitations!
We are leading a small group study & discussion of Paul Tripp’s video seminar titled “Getting to the Heart of Parenting”. http://www.paultrippministries.com/Store_ProductDetail.aspx?pid=0335Ih25759163cDF40g
We had studied his brother Ted’s book, “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” a year or so ago – but I personally knew nothing about Paul Tripp. My wife and I have been blown away at this man’s biblical approach to parenting, and enjoy his engaging style as well. His teaching is valuable not only for parent-to-child relationships, but beneficial to all Christian relationships.
We bought the audio CDs for our daughter and son-in-law to listen to while they drive around, as they plan on trying to have children in a few months.
Very good teaching – for the glory of God.
I would agree that this is sounding like a 5 step process, and one that would appear to be dependent a lot on our works. Personally, I draw great comfort from this verse in Ezekiel that indicates to me that sanctification is both through and by the Holy Spirit. What do we need to do? , I think humble submission to the Spirit is a good place to start.
Ezek 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgements and do them.
But its not about our works after all. Tripp made it clear: “We must first affirm that all lasting change of heart that leads to a change in a person’s word or behavior is an act of grace.”
This is a process of grace, not a 5 step ‘self-generated’ process.
Notice I did not say that this is a works teaching but I said that it sounds like it by the way it is phrased. This is my issue that today many or most ministries set up their website, ministry name and all of their programs structure and so as to be worded in a way that looks just like they are marketing their technique if you will, I am tired of the marketing even if it is toward Christians for there is no apostolic example of this. Yes he does confirm that all lasting change of heart that leads to a change in a person’s word or behavior is an act of grace. But what is he saying? What is lasting change? For if God has removed our stone heart and replaced it with a heart of flesh that is not a changed but a re-birth and the result is that this new heart will out of necessity pump blood it cannot do otherwise just as the stone can only do other and cannot pump blood. We are now a new creation the Master has cut a new stone from the quarry and now He has hewn and squared the block and now He will begin to shaped and chisel it into a masterpiece but since we do not know what the finished work shall be how then can we intrude on the work?
I am a firm believer that change and deliverance are 100% God’s work, in His time and in His way. But if I may play devil’s advocate here….(maybe a poor choice of words) …God ordains the means as well as the ends, right? Is there not to be effort toward holiness put forth by the believer? aren’t we to “strive to enter”? Isn’t there to be a cutting off of the hand and a plucking out of the eye? A fleeing from sin, a resisting of the devil, etc.? I’m not saying we merit anything by doing this, or that our effort is the source of change, but it is required, and seems to me part of the means God uses in changing us.
If I’m off the mark, feel free to correct me.
You are not off the mark at all. But com boxes are a difficult context to fully flesh out deep subjects. I was going to note in my last comment that we cannot minimize our responsibility in our sanctification for I knew that someone would comment about it. My real concern is that we do not use revelation as a means or tool to help us achieve our end but that we strive to always gain a greater understanding of God and in that the necessary result will be our sanctification.
Agreed. A person can be very enlightened about their sin and not be one step closer to salvation or deliverance. Even a worldly “psychologist” can make you aware of your sins, but without regeneration, it’s in vain. I am just beginning to understand the importance of looking to Christ and in particular him crucified as the ultimate source of power in my war against sin.